Is It a Good Idea for Athletes to Cut Carbs?

You probably know that eliminating an entire food group, such as carbohydrates, is not a good idea—all food groups have vital nutrients that your body needs. But news of LeBronJames's low-carb diet might make you wonder if reducing your carb intake could improve your performance at the gym or during a race.

We called on Wendy Bazilian, co-author of The Super Foods Rx Diet: Lose Weight with the Power of SuperNutrients and an American College of Sports Medicine-certified health and fitness specialist, to set the record straight on whether cutting back on carbs can keep athletes energized, how it could affect them long term, and if you should ever consider a low-carb diet.

Why the Low-Carb Diet Is a Thing
In an article published by Sports Illustrated, experts discuss how, by lowering his carb intake, LeBron is training his body for a process called ketosis, or using his fat stores for fuel instead of glycogen (a.k.a. carbs that have turned into sugar to be stored for energy you need later).

Overall, Bazilian says she generally agrees that ketosis could help an elite athlete like LeBron with his energy levels, but it would require a lot of medical supervision. What's more, says Bazilian, the method is not good for endurance athletes like marathon runners, who require long-term use of carbs and fat to perform their best. Plus, there isn't much scientific research to back up claims that ketosis is effective. For all those reasons, it’s likely a bad idea for someone who is not a closely monitored professional athlete, she says.

The Energizing Diet Plan You're Better Off With
In general, eating a diet rich in unrefined carbs, protein, and fruits and veggies should give an active person's body the energy it needs, says Bazilian.

Since carbohydrates turn into blood sugar and fuel your body within five to 10 minutes of eating on an empty stomach, people who skip eating carbohydrate-rich foods before a game, race, or workout miss out on maximizing their energy levels by boosting their blood sugar, says Bazilian. Though your body gets energy from protein-based foods, too, your body can take up to 90 minutes to retrieve the nutrients from those sources, which is not ideal if you need to refuel fast. Plus, when you cut carbs, your body doesn’t retain as much water (of course, this looks good on the scale, but bad for your hydration levels), she says.

While cutting way back on your carb intake is not the optimum way for normal active people to increase energy levels, says Bazilian, you should be choosy when it comes to what kind of carbs you're eating (note the mention of unrefined carbs above). Try to chow down on whole grain breads and fruit as opposed to white bread or chips. The former will help you power through your workouts.

The bottom line: Just because LeBron is experimenting with a low-carb pre-season diet doesn't mean you should try one, too.

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